Such a connector assembly comprises a power receiving connector which is connected for instance to the battery or to the electrical motor of the vehicle and a power supply connector which is connected for instance to a power station or to a charger. For security reasons, it is required that little or no electrical current flows through the power terminals of the connector assembly during the connecting or disconnecting sequence.
Patent application WO 2010/015889 describes a connector assembly preventing the power supply source to send electrical power before the connector assembly is in a safe mated position. This connector assembly comprises a pair of interlock terminals which are electrically connected by a shunt only when a safe mated position is reached. A safety pilot circuit may continuously check the electrical resistance between the two interlock terminals in order to detect automatically when the connector assembly is mated so as to supply the power only when the connector assembly is fully mated. The safety pilot circuit may also detect when the mated connector assembly is going to be unmated, so as to reduce or stop the power before the electrical power terminals disconnection.
Therefore, the resistance of the two electrical connections between the interlock terminal and the shunt is a critical safety parameter for the connection/disconnection process. There is a need to make such a safety parameter less dependent of environmental conditions like dust or humidity for example.
The invention provides a connector assembly, corresponding connector devices and a connecting method which remedy to at least one of the above needs.
A goal of the invention is to make a safety parameter of a connector assembly used for supplying electrical power to vehicles, less dependent on environmental conditions.